In automation context, advanced process control applications are control applications supervise and regulate the local control applications. Advanced process control applications, due to their high processing requirements, are present on remote servers and communicate with the local control applications within the plant site in terms of assigning the set-points to the local control applications. The local control applications targets to attain the received set points. For example, a model predictive control assigns set-point to the plant level PID control and PID controller targets to attain that.
Usually advanced process control applications involve use of model, control, optimization, analytical computations, etc., with different levels of complexity and often require an expert support. While shifting advanced applications to a cloud platform or a remote computing platform, the computational complexity and expertise stays with the cloud platform, and only the optimal set points are communicated to the plant level local control applications. In case of failure of connectivity to the cloud platform, or any other issues that prevent communication between the advanced process control application and the local control application, the local control application keeps operating at the previously assigned set-points from the advanced control application.
Conventionally, one approach to handle loss of connectivity between the cloud platform and the local control application, a backup or redundant network access point having similar functionality as the advanced control application is provided. Upon detection of loss of connectivity, the redundant network access point is selected to act as the advanced control application. In another approach, a secondary communication channel is present between the cloud platform and the local control application. The advanced control application is accessed through the secondary communication channel upon failure of the primary communication channel.
However, these approaches involve considerable costs. Therefore, there is a need for an improved method and system which is capable of handling loss of connectivity between the advanced control processes on the cloud platform and the local control infrastructure present in the plant